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Throughout his career, Steven Spielberg has earned himself a whopping 22 Oscar nods, of which he scored 3 wins, 1 forSaving Private Ryanand 2 forSchindler’s List. Most fans would agree that 3 wins don’t do the director justice, as he is one of the best, responsible for shaping the blockbuster landscape, and is arguably one of the most versatile filmmakers of all time.
But the two losses that stand out the most, which most believe should’ve gone to Spielberg remainsSaving Private RyanandE.T., and the director that beat him agrees with the latter.
Richard Attenborough Felt Steven Spielberg Should’ve Nabbed the Victory That Night
11 years before taking the World and the Academy by storm, following the release of his most important work,Schindler’s List, Spielberg competed withRichard Attenboroughat the Oscars. With Attenborough’sGandhileading the 55th Oscars with 11 nominations andE.T. the Extra-Terrestrialheading with 9 nominations, it was the former that took wins in the major categories.
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Opposed toE.T.‘s four wins, Gandhi took home eight accolades, with Attenborough earning the win over Spielberg for Best Director and Best Picture. To this date, this decision remains debatable, asE.T.’s mark on cinema can’t be denied, and Attenborough felt the same. The filmmaker, who later went on to share a decades-long friendship withSteven Spielberg, recalled telling theSaving Private Ryandirector“this should be yours”.
Attenborough recalled inSteven Spielberg: A Biography(viaEW):
Steven and I were at opposite sides of the room, and when the winner’s name was announced after all the speeches and such, I literally had to be nudged. I couldn’t believe it. I got up from the table and it was a sorty of knee-jerk actor’s reaction. I didn’t go to the podium, I went over to Spielberg. He got up, I put my arms ’round him, and I said, ‘This isn’t right, this should be yours.‘
This wasn’t the lone time theGandhifilmmaker touched this controversial win, as he later deemed Spielberg’s sci-fi flick a fundamental piece of cinema.
Richard Attenborough Believed He Stood No Chance AgainstE.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
While it wasGandhi, who was the clear victor overE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,The Great Escapestar stressed that the latter was“an infinitely more creative and fundamental piece of cinema”. Having seen the film for himself prior to the Oscars, the director felt he stood no chance against Spielberg’s masterpiece, as unlikeGandhi, which was a piece of narration,“E.T. depended absolutely on the concept of cinema”.
He said (viaBBC):
I went to see E.T. in Los Angeles shortly before all the awards and we used language, when we came out, to the extent of saying ‘we have no chance – E.T. should and will walk away with it’
Years later after competing at the Oscars, Spielberg and Attenborough would unite together to once again redefine cinema withJurassic Park, another major milestone in cinema.
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E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialandGandhiare available to stream on Apple TV.
Santanu Roy
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2539
Santanu Roy is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 2,000 articles under his belt. He has been pursuing a degree in Animation and possesses a deep love for the medium of animation. Having spent the better part of the last two years pumping out articles for FW, Santanu excels at covering movie analysis and news surrounding Pixar, DCU, DreamWorks, and Batman’s cinematic legacy.With psychological thrillers and intimate slice-of-life dramas ranking among his favorite genres, Santanu is a big admirer of Luca Guadagnino, Shane Black, Park Chan-wook, and Brad Bird.
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E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialRichard Attenborough
